I have now posted all the oneshots I have written for this fic. I have one more part to this in progress that will be posted when i have completed it. After that this will be updated sporadically if I have another idea but the status for this will remain complete.

Choices

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Don sat at his desk starring at his computer. He'd been on desk duty for two weeks and he was bored to tears, his team was out in the field making an arrest, having all the fun, as he sat at his desk and did paperwork. Although part of his irritation with a desk job probably stemmed from having to do all his typing and paper work with one hand. A report that normally would take him twenty minutes to type now takes at least forty five minutes with one hand. He flexed his left hand and attempted to shift his arm to a more comfortable position, his arm was stiff and starting to cramp from being trapped in the sling all the time.

Don didn't want to admit it but he knew Robin was right; there was no way that he would be able to make it through the rest of his career with a desk job. He joined the FBI to help people and make a difference, not to push papers all day. The only enjoyable thing about desk duty was that it allowed him to spend more time with his family. Don had gotten to the point where he was counting down the minutes until he could go home but dreaded going back to work in the morning. There was no way that he could spend the next fifteen years, until he retired, on desk duty. The only problem was that he wasn't sure he wanted be in the field anymore but he didn't know what else he wanted to do with his life.

Don sighed and looked at his watch, he had another forty five minutes before he could pack up and head home. Don sat up straighter and started the slow task of typing another report.

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Don walked through the door of his home to find Ben gurgling happily at Alan. Robin had returned to work this week after six weeks of maternity leave and Alan had insisted that he be the one to take care of Ben while Don and Robin were at work rather than take him to daycare.

Alan looked up when he saw is oldest walk through the door, "Donnie! How was your day?"

"Boring. How was my favorite little man today?" Don took a seat on the couch next to his father and son. He tickled Ben and was rewarded with a smile.

"He was perfect, hardly fussed all day." Alan smiled and handed his grandson to his son, "I'm going to go check on dinner, I put a brisket in the oven. Do you know when Robin will be back?" Alan headed for the kitchen.

Don glanced at the clock on the wall, "I called her right before I left the office she should be here in the next half an hour."

Ben gurgled happily at Don as he talked and made silly noises. A few minutes later Alan returned from the kitchen and took a seat in the recliner near the couch.

"How is your arm feeling Donnie? You have what another week in the sling?"

"Much better than it was two weeks ago, just stiff from being immobile. Two more weeks in the sling and another two after that before I can get back to active duty." Don sighed.

"So I take it you're reconsidering taking a full time desk job then?" Alan prodded.

Don sighed again, "I can't sit at my desk all day and file paperwork or write up reports. It has only been two weeks and already I'm bored to tears. I'm starting to hate going to work because of it. The only enjoyable thing about it is being able to spend more time with Ben and Robin."

"Donnie, if you aren't going to be happy with a desk job then don't take one. No one wants to listen to you complain about how bored you are."

Don snorted a laugh, "That's what Robin told me. I don't know though dad, after I was stabbed and then the shooting a few weeks ago I'm starting to think I'm getting to old be out in the field. I don't want to take a desk job but I don't know what else to do."

"Don't think about it too hard Donnie. You will figure it out eventually."

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Later that night Don lay in bed leafing through a Sports Illustrated magazine while Robin was in the shower. Don sighed and set the magazine on the night stand next to his side of the bed. He rolled onto his back and watched the ceiling fan turn slowly as he thought about his career and what he wanted to achieve in his lifetime.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the water turn off in the bathroom or the door open and close; he barely noticed that Robin had gotten into bed beside him until she spoke softly, "A penny for your thoughts?"

Don was startled from his thoughts. He looked over at Robin; she lay beside him propped up on one elbow, gently running her hand through his hair. "Oh, I was just thinking about work."

"You still thinking about that desk job?"

Don sighed and shrugged noncommittally.

"I think it's been pretty obvious over the last couple of weeks that you are miserable on desk duty." Robin stated matter-of-factly.

Don turned his head towards her, "I'm just so bored. I could never take a desk job and still have my sanity by the time I can retire in fifteen years. I just don't know if I want to continue to be a field agent but I don't know what else to do that's not the FBI."

"What have you come up as an alternative to the FBI?"

"Nothing really. I mean I could always take a job with the private sector working for a corporation but I don't think I would enjoy that. You know that kidnapping case I worked a few months ago where a girl was kidnapped by her surrogate mother because she was being used as a test subject by her father for research?" Robin nodded, "Well one of the security guys from the corporation the 'father' worked at actually offered me a job. Said I could start making 'some real changes', whatever that means."

"Oh yeah? So what were your reasons for turning down the offer?" Robin prodded.

"I've worked with enough corporations over the years to know how they work. They're all the same when it comes down to it; really, it's all about the money. This guy, Miller, was a total slime ball; he just wanted to cover up what was really happening to CJ. I could never work for a company like that. But the thing is there aren't a whole lotta other jobs for someone with fifteen years of experience in the FBI unless I go back to school and get another degree."

"You know there is nothing stopping you from going back to school Don."

"I know, I just don't know what I would do if I did. I haven't got the slightest clue," Don sighed.

"Well what did you want to do back before you decided to join the FBI?"

"That's the thing, I never really knew. I went to college to play baseball, back then I thought I still had a shot at making the majors. Baseball was my focus; school was just a means for me to get closer to playing pro ball. The FBI was just a fallback when I realized I didn't have the goods to play pro ball, I just knew I would be good at it. I never really had a plan before that."

"You majored in history right?" Don nodded, "You could become a teacher, or a paralegal, or go to law school."

Don was quiet for a moment, "You know I have thought about teaching before, but never really seriously."

"Well think about it some more, I don't want you to do something rash, leave the FBI and then decide it's not what you really want." Robin gave him a small smile.

"I know, I'm not planning on leaving the FBI anytime in the near future, just considering my options." Don stated.

"Why did you choose history anyway?" Robin asked curiously.

"I was always good at it in school, I like history, its interesting. History was like my subject you know? Charlie was so good at math a science but really bad at history and English. Those were like my subjects, the two things in school that I was better at than Charlie. I didn't really have any reason other than that I like it. I figured I may as well choose something that could be my own thing since Charlie hated history unless it involved mathematicians."

"Ah, so it was sort of a sibling rivalry thing." Robin smiled slightly.

Don laughed, "Basically."

Robin yawned, "Well I don't know about you but I need some sleep."

Don leaned over to kiss her, "Thank you Robin."

"Anytime," Robin kissed him back, "I love you."

"I love you too." Don put his good arm around his wife as she snuggled into his shoulder and they both drifted off to sleep.

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